Sandhill Plastic

Plastic bag makers tout sacks’ ability to be recycled…

A series of plastic bag recycling programs kicked off in advance of Earth Day, sponsored by the American Chemistry Council’s Progressive Bag Affiliates (PBA) and other local organizations.
In Philadelphia, the PBA partnered with Temple University, Keep Philadelphia Beautiful and the Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association to launch a plastic bag recycling consumer education drive for city residents on April 14th. Over 230 retail stores are participating in the program to date, including Target, Kmart and Sears.
Elsewhere, PBA sponsored events in Florida and in King County, Washington are scheduled to begin April 20th. Floridians will get to experience “A Bag’s Life” community-based public education campaign about the lifecycle of the ubiquitous sacks. King County residents will take part in a collection challenge at a local school, titled “Bag Your Bags, Bring ‘em Back.”
All events are designed to educate residents on the importance of recycling plastic bags, and where they can go to recycling their collected materials. The volume of plastic bags and product wraps recycled reached an estimated 832.3 million pounds in 2008. The following year, 2009, the PBA set a goal of 40-percent recycled content in all plastic shopping bags by 2015.

Cited from Plastics Recycling Update

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The following is a list of some of our distributors across the US:

Dawson Engineering – Minnesota

Bob Erickson – Southern California

Orscheln Farm & Home – Midwest

Central Confinement – Nebraska

Luco Manufacturing – Kansas

QC Supply – Nebraska

Pork N More – Iowa

Midwest Livestock – Nebraska

Edleman’s – Kansas

Danny Chaffin – Oklahoma

Hickenbottom – Iowa

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News tidbits on other plastics in the industry:

A new device for processing polystyrene has been patented by Joseph Sanders of Glendale, Kentucky. Outlined in Patent No. 7,696,305, the machine heats and dissolves scrap polystyrene in to an organic solvent, before separating out the recoverable material.
Patent No. 7,696,255 has been awarded to Danish firm Wietek Holding GmbH, for a new plastics recycling process. Scrap plastics are dissolved in an organic solvent under heat and pressure and then recovered by evaporating the solvent.
Tokyo’s Nippon Steel Corp. has been awarded Patent No. 7,695,669 for a method of reutilizing and shaping waste plastic. Scrap material is heated and compressed to yield a plastic granular material having an apparent density of 0.7 to 1.2 kilograms per liter.
For more information on these or any patents, please consult the U.S. Patent Office database online.
Copies of patents can be ordered by number for $3 each from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA, 22313-1450.

Cited by Plastics Recycling Update

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In its simplest terms, the main difference between the different types of plastic is the way their cellular structure, or molecules bond with each other, and how tightly they are formed.

• 1) Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), most common type of plastic sheeting, very flexible, most often from 0.5 mil thick to about 40 mil in flexible sheeting forms. Good conformability to surfaces. Because the cell structure is not as strong or dense as some other types of plastic sheeting, it is not typically as strong or puncture resistant as other forms or blends, but has thousands of common uses. Widely used for everything from construction and agricultural sheeting (often called Visqueen), Engineered Plastic Sheeting of countless types for such things as Vapor Retarders (also called Vapor Barriers by many), Surface Protection films, Pond and Canal Liners, Abatement Plastic, Containment, packaging, and the list goes on.
• 2) Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), blended form of LDPE where the film has much more flexibility, tensile strength, and more conformability. LLDPE is “softer” and more pliable, so is an excellent choice for such things as pond liners, or blended into other films to give them extra strength and flexibility. This is perfect for an application like a self-adhesive carpet protection film, where the film needs to have an amazing amount of strength in a very thin film to absorb impacts, but not tear or puncture. In this form of poly, the molecules all line up and strongly hold together as the film is stretched to give the structure much more strength and elongation than LDPE. Most common in thicknesses ranging from 0.5 mil to 40 mil in flexible plastic sheeting.
• 3) Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE), the least commonly used form of polyethylene for flexible plastic sheeting. Has more strength than LDPE, a little more chemical resistance, tighter cell structure, more puncture and tear resistance. Often blended with LDPE and or LLDPE to give the attributes one is looking for in a particular type of film. For instance, many pond liners have MDPE to add some strength and toughness, without adding too much stiffness.
• 4) High Density Polyethylene (HDPE, aka HD), widely used for many applications. HDPE is the strongest, toughest, most chemical resistant, and least flexible of these four types of polyethylene. It also has the most UV resistance of the bunch without additive packages to increase this attribute. HDPE has a very tight cell structure, making it very difficult for other molecules to pass through its structure on a microscopic level. HDPE is the most easily field seamed of these products, and is generally used on an industrial level in thicknesses from about 12 mil to 100 mil thick. Most golf course ponds are lined with HDPE, most industrial ponds and canal liners, secondary containment liners, root barriers, many applications where chemical resistance is needed. This is also used in thousands or maybe millions of applications in thinner forms, especially in blends with the other types of polyethylene, because the HDPE adds much strength and toughness with its very tight bonds with other molecules.

The density of polyethylene is measured in a column of water, and they are all classified depending on ranges of density.  LDPE (and LLDPE) are generally within the range of 0.919-0.924 g/cm³. MDPE are generally within the range of 0.926-0.940 g/cm³.  HDPE are generally within the range of 0.941-0.965 g/cm³.  These numbers can vary slightly depending on your source, and are not set in stone, just general guidelines.

Written by Lee Hinsley- Plastic Sheeting Expert

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Information on the global recycling biz…..

The wide world of plastics recycling

The U.K.’s plastics industry is hoping to jump-start the conversation about plastics collection and processing with the Plastics 2020 Challenge Recycling Debate. The Plastics 2020 challenge is an industry-funded organization aiming to double the amount of plastics recycled by 2020, from 27 percent in 2007. As part of the debate’s launch, survey results were released, finding that less than one-third of those 55 and older would stop recycling if curbside pick-up was eliminated, while more than half of families (with more than three children) surveyed would stop recycling altogether.
“We can’t just rely on the older generation to get Britain’s recycling rates up,” says Barry Turner of the Plastics 2020 Challenge. “We need to ensure that better infrastructure is in place to make it as easy as possible for all kinds of householders, including those in high-density housing and student accommodation, to get involved. One council has already stopped curbside collection of plastic bottles to reduce its council budget. This is worrying when the opposite is needed to reach Government recycling targets. ”
The plastics division of Greenstar UK, Greenstar Waste Exchange Services, received $76,000 ($US) in grant funding from the One North East regional development agency, as part of a upgrade effort at the firm’s Redcar, England processing facility. According to a story on letsrecycle.com, this is in addition to the $1.8 million Greenstar WES received from the Waste & Resources Action Programme, as part of a push to boost mixed plastics recycling.

Cited from Plastics Recycling Update

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INTERESTING NEWS….

PepsiCo commits to raising recycling rates

PepsiCo recently announced that it intends to push higher beverage container recycling rates in the U.S. through a series of partnerships, commitments and company goals. The company announced the lofty goal of reaching a 50-percent U.S. beverage container recycling rate by 2018.
The goals, developed in cooperation with socially responsible investment firm Walden Asset Management and As You Sow — a foundation promoting corporate social responsibility through shareholder engagement — include such goals as to “work with other U.S. industry leaders in support of programs and policies that effectively increase recycling,” and to “develop innovative U.S. retail customer and consumer programs that support the recycling of beverage containers,” according to the company’s press release announcing the action.

CITED BY PLASTICS RECYCLING UPDATES

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Interesting…

DC bag tax rakes in money, cuts bag use

The District of Columbia’s controversial nickel single-use plastic bag fee brought in almost $150,000 in its first month and cut bag use by an estimated 86 percent.
According to numbers released by the District’s Office of Tax and Revenue, the monies collected from the first month of the five-cent per-bag fee totaled $149,432.27.

Bag usage dipped from a monthly average of 22.5 million bags per month to just short of three million, according to a press release from the office of D.C. Councilmember Tommy Wells.

Cited from Plastics Recycling Update

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Export watch- just some interesting information regarding plastics…

The volume of plastic scrap exported in January, at 408.65 million pounds, increased by 8.7 percent when compared to its December figure. And, when weighed against January 2009’s position, the volume of exports rose by 66.4 percent.
The weighted average price of recovered plastic exports for January, at 17.14 cents per pound, decreased 15.1 percent from its December standing. However, when compared to January 2009, the price rose 3.1 percent.

Cited by Plastics Recycling Update

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Just some news to share:

Polyolefin markets continue upward

Rising raw material costs have led prime resin makers to higher prices for plastics. For most of 2010, they have been successful. This has allowed recycled plastics producers to also move prices higher, although market conditions vary among the polyolefins.
PE: Resin makers ended 2009 on a flat note when a recommended December price increase of nearly five cents per pound went nowhere. Producers then wanted as much as eight cents per pound more in January, and tight supplies in North America, Europe and China eventually meant that many converters were forced to pay more. Prices went up by about four cents per pound in mid-January. Then, a sharp rise in ethylene prices, at the end of the month, led to resin producers announcing pricing would go upward again.
Producers sought an additional eight cents per pound in February, saying they were being aided by previous cutbacks in monomer and polymer production capacity, higher imports, tight supplies and rising ethylene costs. As a result, this large price increase stuck and, in March, prices went up six cents more, followed now by a five-cent increase quoted for April shipments. Ethylene production snafus added to market tension, with about 15 percent of North American capacity being offline in the first quarter.
PP: The market picture for propylene in the first quarter mirrored that for PE. Resin makers sought about five cents per pound more in January, which was attained due to low supplies. Producers then wanted six to eight cents more in February because of higher monomer costs, and were able to attain this increase. This was followed by a five- cent boost in March. Analysts say, however, that further price movement will be restricted by weakening resin demand, especially from the automotive and appliance sectors.

Cited by: plastics recycling update newsletter

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terese_Hartjoy

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